Hello, Rappler readers!
The Senate committee on justice and human rights resumes today the hearings on drug-related killings, after chairperson Leila de Lima agreed to suspend the televised probe to until after the ASEAN Summit in Laos, so as not to embarrass President Rodrigo Duterte. She vows to present more witnesses – specifically at least 9 who will testify on 8 cases involving 11 victims. De Lima says the testimonies are expected to “provide not only the clearer and broader picture behind these killings, but also any loopholes in enforcing our laws.”
The Philippines’ top cop, however, thinks the Senate investigation is creating a “chilling effect on the operatives on the ground.” General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa says: “They say, ‘If the chief of the PNP can be investigated, what more me, an ordinary Police Officer 1?’ A chilling effect happens, but it doesn’t mean we’ll stop…. These critics, they’re only a few. Most of the people are behind us.”
Here are the other big stories you shouldn’t miss:
Mary Jane Veloso, who has been sentenced to death for smuggling illegals drugs into Indonesia, will not be included in the next wave of executions until she has testified in the Philippines against her alleged recruiters, the office of Indonesia’s Attorney General said. The announcement came as Indonesian President Joko Widodo stuck to his interpretationof Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s words that Jakarta could “go ahead” with Veloso’s execution, despite Duterte’s spokesman claiming the opposite.
In the next 100 days starting September 15, the Philippine Department of Health will provide basic check-up for the 20 million poorest Filipinos under the Duterte Health Agenda. Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial says a simple, basic check-up can lead to the early detection of several illnesses, like cataract, malnourishment, underweight, and underheight.
Money to fight the spread of Zika virus in the United States is “essentially all spent,” top US doctors said, urging Congress to come to agreement on new funding measures. The US and its territories have recorded more than 19,600 Zika infections, and Florida is seeing a rise in locally transmitted cases of the virus which is particularly dangerous for pregnant women because it can cause microcephaly, an irreversible deformation of the brain and skull, in infants.
Property developer DMCI, the subject of a Supreme Court case for “ruining” the view of a national monument Manila, is also being accused of obstructing the flight path of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport with another high-rise condominium development. Manuel Tamayo, deputy director general for administration of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, told senators that because of DMCI’s Cypress Towers along C-5 in Taguig City, pilots have “had to adjust the minimum descent height for the non-position approach specifically because of this tower.”
Rona Fairhead, head of the BBC’s governing body, has resigned after being asked by Prime Minister Theresa May to reapply for her job ahead of a major overhaul. She was only confirmed in her post 4 months ago by then premier David Cameron. Fairhead said she believed there should be a “clean break” as the public broadcaster implements major changes as part of a new 11-year governing charter due to be agreed with the government this year.
German chemicals giant Bayer said it had agreed to buy the controversial US seeds and pesticides firm Monsanto for $66 billion, in a deal that triggered immediate criticism from environmentalists. The 58.8-billion-euro all-cash deal marks the largest-ever takeover by a German firm and creates a new behemoth in the agrochemical industry.
The European Space Agency unveiled a 3-dimensional map of a billion stars in our galaxy that is 1,000 times more complete than anything existing today. A space-based probe called Gaia, launched in December 2013, has been circling the Sun 1.5 million kilometers (nearly a million miles) beyond Earth’s orbit and has been discreetly snapping pictures of the Milky Way. The satellite’s billion-pixel camera, the largest ever in space, is so powerful it would be able to gauge the diameter of a human hair at a distance of 1,000 kilometers, meaning nearby stars have been located with unprecedented accuracy.
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